Every winter the service technicians at Haller Enterprises get calls from homeowners whose pipes froze.

But during this unusually frigid winter, they’re getting even more calls. So, one of the technicians showed News 8 how to keep pipes from cracking.

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Kenny Rogers with Haller gave us a few tips. The first would be to not set your thermostat at a lower temperature when you’re sleeping or not at home. You should keep your house at a consistent temperature so your pipes don’t freeze overnight.

“The second tip of the day is to know where your emergency shut-off valves are. The reason for this is if the pipes freeze, the pipe can expand and cause cracking and this will allow no water to damage your home,” said Rogers.

Rogers’ third tip of the day is if you have water lines that freeze during these conditions, make a slow drip at your faucet to keep it flowing so it doesn’t freeze in extreme temperatures.

Rogers says the No. 1 reason for pipes freezing is a draft. If you have cracks in your basement walls, over time, the cold air can cause pipes to freeze so make sure any exposure to the outside is sealed up.

Continue to monitor your pipes.

Rogers says when pipes freeze, they won’t leak but as soon as that ice starts to thaw, cracks in the pipes will become very easy to spot and that’s when the calls to their business really start to rise.

Rogers also says that contrary to what you may think, hot water lines freeze before cold ones do. When water is heated, it loses oxygen and doesn’t need to be as cold to freeze, so check hot water lines first.